Cohort Stories: Meet Nicholas
vol. 5, no. 66 — guest post by Nicholas Aswani
As an immigrant to the U.S. with no family support or any network, my whole journey has been full of challenges. These challenges have been inevitable and welcomed. Prior to immigrating to the U.S., I was taking care of my stepmother and siblings back in my home country after the untimely demise of my father. Being in the new country I still had to pursue my educational interests and continue financially supporting my family. The major challenges I have faced are juggling my work and study and meeting my financial obligations. I have been working at group homes for individuals with mental and physical disabilities since immigrating to the U.S. My interest in technology and desire to be a Computer Scientist began in my home country, Kenya, but I could not achieve my educational goal in my home country because of the structure of the education system which is very rigid in terms of pursuing careers of choice. I enrolled at Northern Essex Community College where I took part time classes as I was working full time. I eventually graduated from NECC and continued to UMASS Lowell where I am now pursuing my first Bachelor’s degree. Juggling school and work and making sure the family I left back home is taken care of financially has been my major challenge. Through perseverance and a positive attitude, I have weathered the journey.
The height of success for me in the tech industry will be getting to be a CEO or CFO of technology company. After graduation from Hack.Diversity and college I plan to work in the tech industry as I look forward to enrolling to an MBA curriculum, preferably a technology-focused MBA.
I am passionate about Computer Security and Cybersecurity and would love to explore the intermarriage of cybersecurity and business applications.
A major obstacle to pursuing an MBA will be financial obligations that come with it. Nevertheless, I will diligently work on realizing my education goals and improving my skills set.
I envision my time at Hack.Diversity as an opportunity to sharpen and acquire industry standard technological skills that will help me kick start my career as a computer scientist. At Hack.Diversity I anticipate developing lifelong career networks and friendships as well commitment to diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. I am also looking forward to contributing to the ethos of Hack.Diversity in whichever capacity Hack.Diversity deems fit. With Hack.Diversity giving me this opportunity, I would love to give back in whatever way I can to the continuation of the great work that Hack.Diversity is providing to the community.
I am beyond grateful to Hack.Diversity for offering me this opportunity to intern since I was fearful of my next steps after graduating from college, because I do not have a meaningful or reliable network.
